David Stockton's Blog

I love rain in the desert. I like the way it looks as it brings cleansing and clarity to all the colors, while surrounding them with a soft, grey hue. I like the way it smells as it brings the soothing fragrance of creosote into our dusty desert air. And I like how it stirs up the giddy in all of us sun-scorched Phoenician folk.
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In a book I have been reading lately the author discusses a psychological defense mechanism called dissociation. (I know that sounds boring, but bear with me a moment.) Dissociation is the splitting off of a group of mental processes from the main body of consciousness. The first example is from a story about a missionary who was mauled ...

My life right now has three main compartments. I have heard people say it is not good to compartmentalize your life. They say, “Your life should not be like a frozen dinner, it should be more like a pot pie.” But I don’t really know what “they” are talking about.
I have my home situation, which is most important. I have my ...

My daughters have a new favorite song right now called “Boomerang.” (It is a little embarrassing to admit that I know the song, because a 15 year-old punk rock girl named Jo Jo sings it.) There is a line repeated in the song that says, “I don't really care...

At 2:30 a.m. on the Fourth of July, my cell phone rang and I didn't answer it. I wondered who would be calling me at that time, and what the problem could've been; but I fell back asleep. At about 7:30 a.m., my wife woke me up and told me that Kristina...

Brittany reached over and gently tapped me on the shoulder and said, “I think it is time.” It was midnight and I had been asleep for an hour, so it took me a couple of seconds to realize what she meant. When it hit me, I bolted upright and a thousand ...

Hello, everybody out there!
I'd love to hear where you are as you read this. I know many of you Phoenicians are “escape artists” this time of year. So, if you could just take a second to comment, it would be ...

June is here, and that means a very different thing to those who are in Wisconsin than it does to us here in the desert. The heat is on. Even my visiting Belizean friends. who live in 90º weather with 90% humidity all year round, have been ...

If there were no pain and death in the world, we would not need to talk about Jesus. If all we experienced in our world was peace and tranquility, we would never need to rock the boat by bringing up the powerful, unsettling name of Jesus. But ...

The name Daniel means God is my judge. In my opinion, it has become very hard these days to judge what is right and true in the midst of all the clamor and confusion. It seems there is very little substantial meat in the extremely fattened ...

I Miss My Mom.
She took her last breath of this world’s air 12 years ago. For 53 years before that, she added light and love and good food to the world she interacted with. She was a strong believer, a faithful wife, a caring mother, and a 5-foot ...